Misfits
by Fire of my Loins
Summary: Superpowers AU. No one could have seen it coming. A storm—the biggest seen in years—hits Tulsa; with the boys smack dab in the middle of the chaos. They wake the next day dazed and confused to a frightening, yet exciting discovery that has now marked them from outsiders, to misfits. Their lives will never be the same.
1. A Change in The Weather

**Disclaimer: The Outsiders and its fantastic array of characters are the work of S.E. Hinton. Misfits, which provides the basis for this story, is the brainchild of Howard Overman. I merely own the words for this measly fanfic. **

Ponyboy Curtis tilted his head back and squinted.

"Looks like rain," Sodapop said, coming up from behind him and swinging an arm around his shoulders.

"Probably," Pony agreed, still looking up at the ominous, swirling dark gray of the clouds that loomed over their heads.

"If it's going to rain, you should put on a jacket," Darry called to him, looking up from where he was fixing his truck. "You'll catch a cold, and I don't want you running around like an ornery donkey with a runny nose."

"I'm _fine_ Darry," Ponyboy grumbled, but then bristled as a chill wind swept by, and Soda laughed, bringing him in closer and using his other hand to rub Pony's hair affectionately.

"Aww, wittle Pony cold?" Steve laughed from his position next to Darry, and missed Pony's glare while dodging Darry's attempt at a swat.

"It does look like really bad weather," Johnny said softly from his seat on the Curtises' front steps, and Pony slipped out from under Sodapop's grip to sit next to him. "You think it's going to be some kind of storm?"

"It'll probably just be a little rain," Soda said, ever the optimist, and he started to walk back inside the house. "I'll go get you a jacket anyway, Ponyboy."

Pony nodded his thanks, leaning against Johnny's shoulder comfortably and giving his friend a concerned look. Johnny looked rather unnerved.

"You okay, Johnnycake?"

"I just have this feeling like something bad's about to happen," Johnny muttered, black eyes narrowed.

"It's like Soda said, it's probably just rain," Pony shrugged, not seeing what the big deal was, but Johnny just shook his head, and they sat in comfortable silence as Steve and Darry continued to bicker over fixing the Curtis truck.

"Superdope, that doesn't go there—"Steve said irritably. "You're gonna mess up the truck's—here, let me do it—"

"I can do it just fine," Darry said, rolling his eyes. "Steve, lemme just—"

Suddenly, Soda burst from the house, stumbling over himself.

"Darry! Two-Bit just called. He and Dally are in some kind of mess with the cops!"

Darry cursed under his breath. "What for?"

"Stole something from the store, apparently," Soda said, seeming impatient to leave already. "Dally had a heater on him, and Two-Bit says it's unloaded, but of course the fuzz won't know that. We have to hide them!"

"Well, let's go already!" Steve said, jumping up on his feet, as patient as Sodapop was.

"Alright we'll go," Darry readily agreed, and then he pointed at Ponyboy. "Except I don't want _you_ going, no need for you to get mixed up with the police."

"Soda's going!" Pony protested rather loudly, never liking it when Darry left him out of something, and Johnny jumped at his friend's sudden increase of volume. "That's not fair, Darry!"

"_Soda _can handle himself!" Darry stressed, and Pony felt his anger spike when Steve smirked at him. "Pony, just do what I say and stay here and out of trouble, okay? Keep him company, Johnny. We won't take too long."

Pony bit his lip as he and Johnny watched the others leave to collect Dally and Two-Bit. Darry always left him out, and it pissed him off to end. He was perfectly capable of taking care of himself! He was fourteen now, for God's sake, and Soda was only two years older than him. Johnny rubbed his shoulder in his sympathy, but Pony hardly noticed.

"Johnny, let's go after them."

"What?" Johnny stepped back, a little startled by the suggestion. "Didn't Darry just say—"

"I don't give a rat's ass on what Darry says," Pony huffed, tugging on the sleeve of Johnny's denim sleeve. "I'll be perfectly fine, I know we can help them!"

"Pony—"Johnny began in objection, but Pony widened his eyes pleadingly, and his resolve crumbled. He looked sheepishly at the ground. "I, um, guess we could go…"

Johnny winced as Pony's face lit up with a blinding beam. Why on earth did he ever say yes?

"Johnny, you're the best! Come on; let's go catch up with them!" Pony said, grabbing Johnny's wrist and taking off.

_Johnny Cade, you are such a wuss_, Johnny thought desperately as he struggled to keep pace with the track star of his friend.

* * *

"Two-Bit, you crazy sonuvabitch," Dally panted from behind him, and Two-Bit cackled with laughter.

"At least I'm a sonuvabitch who knows how to have fun!" he yelled back gleefully, and he laughed again as Dallas let out a string of colorful curses. "Is that anyway to talk to your loving best friend? It's not my fault you decided to give the gun to me and I panicked and pointed it at the cops!"

"Just keep running, ya fucker," Dally growled, and Two-Bit complied, the sound of feet slapping the ground ringing in his ears.

He enjoyed the adrenaline he got from this; the pure rush from danger _literally _right at your heels.

"Stop, you punks!" he heard one of the fuzz call after them, and Dally cursed again.

"You'll never catch us aliiiive!" he taunted, rounding a corner, with Dally and the fat cop right behind him.

"TWO-BIT! DALLY!" yelled a familiar voice, and Two-Bit's head looked up to find Sodapop, Steve, and Darry waving over at them.

"Heeeeey!" he yelled back happily, glad to see some friendly faces. "We're a little busy right now!"

"Head over to the lot!" Darry hollered, flapping his arms frantically, and he looked so funny doing so, Two-Bit had the urge to laugh at that, even though it wasn't appropriate given the situation. But then again, when did Two-Bit Mathews ever follow society's rules?

"Let's split up," Dallas said to him, and Two-Bit bobbed his head in agreement, veering off to the left as Dally ran off to the right.

Fat cop apparently decided it was more important to go after Two-Bit, probably because he was oh so more dangerous than Dallas Winston, who practically lived down at the police station.

"Need a break?" he teased, cracking up at the beads of sweat rolling off the red faced pig.

"You shut up that mouth of yours and get back here now!" the police officer barely gasped out instead.

Two-Bit shrugged, rushing toward the lot. Briefly he wondered what his mother would say about this. Oh, boy. A clap of thunder startled him for a second, and he looked up to a nearly black sky. Another clap of thunder, and it began to rain. Two-Bit looked back down, blinking rainwater out of his eyes. Just what they needed.

* * *

"There!" Pony cried, pointing at the lot, and Johnny could make out the figures of the gang crowding around their favorite hangout. Johnny glanced at Ponyboy, who was shaking like a leaf, clad in only a tank top that clung to him. It had begun to rain when they left the Curtis house, with it raining heavier and heavier at every second. Pony's auburn hair had turned a light brown with the water, and plastered to his head; apparently hair grease was no match for the storm. Johnny's own hair stuck to his forehead, and he gave it a flip to let the sopping bangs fly out from his eyes.

"Dally," he whispered, spotting the head of white blond hair dashing towards the lot. "Pony, look, it's Dal! And Two-Bit's here too!"

Pony peered over and nodded, and they both ran towards the lot for them. The first to see them was Sodapop, whose eyes bulged out of their sockets at the sight of his soaked little brother.

"Pony? Johnny? What are you two doing here? Oh, Pone, you're _soaked_!" Soda cried, immediately taking Pony in his arms. "Darry's going to be livid at this—"

"We've got you!" a triumphant voice announced, and everyone's heads whipped about to see a rather fat police officer who had come with two patrol cars. "Game over, boys."

"Officer can't we just talk about this—"Darry was saying, but the cop cut him off.

"What's there to talk about? Sideburns and Blondie over there robbed a store, threatened us with a gun—"

"It was unloaded!" Two-Bit shouted at him, but everyone ignored him.

"—and then proceeded to run and provoke us instead. We're going to have to bring them in."

"Sir, it was harmless—"Darry tried again, but the cop was shaking his head.

"I'm sorry son, but we're going to have to—"

Plink. _Plonk_. Everyone's eyes widened as a hard ball of ice dented the top of one of the police cars. And another one. And another. It was Steve who yelled out the obvious.

"_HAIL!_"

In a matter of seconds, hell had broken loose. The cops had quickly slipped into the safety of their cars and drove away, tires squealing against the wet cement of the ground. Johnny stripped his jean jacket off to hold it over his head as a makeshift umbrella. Dally cursed as a hailstone smacked against his leather jacket, feeling thankful for it at the moment. He followed Johnny's example and seized an unsuspecting Two-Bit narrowly out of harm's way. Steve tripped, and Soda helped him up, both of them falling over themselves. Thunder continued to roar above their heads, and lightning flashed in colors of blue and white.

"GET BACK TO THE HOUSE!" Darry screamed over the ruckus, and the boys scrambled to get back to the Curtis house. Darry caught glimpse of Ponyboy and his icy eyes narrowed. "Ponyboy! What the _hell _are you doing here? I specifically told you _not_ to come out here!"

"You don't control me!" Pony screamed right back at me. "You can't tell me what to do, Darry! I can make my own decisions!"

"Like hell you can!" Darry started to argue, but then backed off, startled as hail smacked Pony right in the face. "_Pony!_"

"Oh…" Pony blinked, putting a hand to his forehead and pulling it away to find dark crimson on it.

"We'll talk later," Darry said hastily, grabbing his younger brother and sprinting back to their house.

"Darry—"

"Pony, this isn't the time—"

"_Darry!_" Pony screeched, and Darry finally let out a "What?" but the warning came too late.

A bolt of lightning struck them, and Darry felt Pony fall from his arms as his body spasmed and twisted. He felt his flesh burn and sizzle and the pain was so great, he couldn't even open his mouth to scream. As he waited for death to swallow him up in its blackness, he briefly thought: _Ponyboy always got the last word in._

**A/N: Aaaand that's a wrap! A little shorter than what I wanted it to be, but I wanted to get it out when I could. I apologize if any of the characters seem OOC or if the first chapter seems too rushed.I think the plot's pretty self-explanatory~ The boys get superpowers as the result of a mysterious bad storm, and they'll have to adjust to their new lives, yada yada. I'll try to roll out chapters as fast as I possibly can, I've got a good grasp on how I want this story to go, and hopefully everything will just turn out for the best. Thanks for reading, and see you all in Chapter 2! ~Essie**


	2. Awfully Strange Happenings Part I

**Disclaimer: The Outsiders and its fantastic array of characters are the work of S.E. Hinton. Misfits, which provides the basis for this story, is the brainchild of Howard Overman. I merely own the words for this measly fanfic. **

Dally blinked exhausted sleep from his eyes, propping himself up on his elbows carefully. He was somehow in a nice bed with clean, white sheets—that wasn't right. He blearily took in his surroundings. Pristine, clean atmosphere, vases brimming with flowers, and busy nurses bustling about. Oh, _God._ Dally groaned.

"I fucking _hate_ hospitals," he grumbled aloud, letting his head sink back into the fluffy pillow that it had occupied only moments before.

But wait; what the hell was Dallas Winston doing in a hospital? He would never drag himself here, and no one besides the gang in their right mind would even have the thought to bring _Dallas Winston_ to a hospital. He racked his brains. The last thing he remembered was that he was running away from the fuzz with Two-Bit, and then they got cornered in the lot, it was hailing—Dally prickled. _They were all struck by lightning._ But that didn't make sense. Dally was sure as hell that people _died_ when they were struck by lightning, and he distinctly remembered the jolts of pain that had coursed through his body, and the smell of his own skin frying. What was he doing here alive? He threw the covers off of himself. He was wearing a hospital gown, much to his distaste. But other than that, he looked positively fine. No charred flesh, maybe his skin was a little more pinker, but nothing looked out of the ordinary. He flexed his hand. Fine. No pain. Dally felt unnerved. It was impossible. Briefly he considered the notion that he had maybe just imagined the bolt of lightning hitting him, but he _knew_ that it did. He shook his head. He'll figure it all out later. First, he had to get out of here, go back to the Curtis house, maybe—He froze. _The Curtises. Steve and Two-Bit. Johnny._ He looked wildly about. The only other people in the room were a coughing old man and some crying brunette girl.

"Oh, you're awake!" a peppy—a little too peppy for Dally's liking—voice said, and his whipped over to a beaming plump blonde nurse. He scowled. _Just great_. "Would you like me too—"

"I wouldn't like you to do anything," he growled at her, exhaling sharply, and he smirked when her overly friendly demeanor receded a tiny bit as she jumped back from him, started.

"Oh, well I just—"

"You just nuthin'!" he snapped at her, already annoyed with her. "Now, if you so _excuse me_—" her eyes flared a bit at his mock politeness—"I'll be on my merry way now."

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that!" she said, trying to push him back down when he tried to get out of the bed, and his blue eyes dramatically narrowed with anger and annoyance.

"Oh, yes, I will," he said snappily, and when she tried to push him again, he smacked her away.

Except, something rather peculiar happened—the front of the nurse's uniform _caught on fire_. She screamed, patting at them in desperation, and Dally and the other two occupants of the room could only look on in shock. Finally, the nurse—still screaming her head off, of course—ran out of the room, leaving Dally's escape up to him. But instead of running out right away, Dally stared at his hands, which were smoking. Did he do that? Set her dress on fire? All he could remember was getting mad and a strange feeling in his hands, and then… No, it couldn't be. Things like people setting other people on fire was impossible. But then again his hands were smoking… It might have been a trick of the light… He shook his head. He was being stupid. Only Ponyboy would think of such imaginative things. He stiffened as he heard footsteps near his door. Was that broad back already?

"Dallas Winston if I am correct?" his head snapped up and a pudgy man with coke bottle glasses was staring at him somberly. "May I have a word with—"

"Like fuck you will!" he snorted, up on his feet right away, and pushing the man aside, he bolted.

"Mr. Winston! Come back!" voices yelled after him, and he heard people running after him.

"Jesus," he breathed out as he ran down several halls, people staring after him in surprise. He was still trying to get over the fact that someone just randomly caught on fire, but right now there were more important issues to address. He desperately looked around for signs of Johnny or the other boys. "The hell are all of you?"

* * *

"Mr. Randle? Mr. Randle, would you wake up please?"

"Wha?" said person with that last name groaned, groggily opening his eyes. "Wha'sgoingon?"

"Oh, good, you got up!" someone with a high-pitched voice cried, and Steve was about to threaten Ponyboy away to enjoy the nice bed. when he realized that _it was a nice bed_. Steve Randle never woke up in a nice bed; it was either the cold tile floor at his old man's or the Curtises' couch. He woke up more effectively, eyes squinting in the new morning light. "Where am I?"

"The hospital," the same voice from earlier answered, and he looked over to have his eyes nearly bulging out at what he assumed was his nurse.

She was a pretty girl, with long red hair, but that wasn't why he was freaking out. The girl wasn't wearing any fucking _clothes_. She stood before him, smiling, and clad in her pink ('Oh, dear Lord, 'Steve thought.) lacy panties and matching bra. Seeing as she had a nice, lithe body, he liked what he saw, sure, but this was hella _weird_. Plus Evie would probably clobber him over the head if he were to have a quickie with a hot nurse.

"Sorry to disappoint sweets, but I'm not interested and think you have the wrong idea," he turned her down nicely, even offering her a smile, and she frowned. _Oh, poor thing._

"Excuse me?" she asked, eyebrows knitted together, and he smirked. "Not interested in what exactly?"

"You," he said bluntly. Oh, boy, this broad must be one of them ditz chicks…

"Um, what?" her frown grew deeper. "Did you mean you want a different nurse or…?"

"What? No!" he said, rolling his eyes. How dumb was she? "I don't want to get into your pants!"

"And where'd you get an idea like _that_?!" she shrieked, girl defenses already on the rise with her cheeks starting to grow crimson, and Steve frowned too, but his frown came from confusion.

"You're standing right there in front of me in your underwear, what kind of idea is a guy supposed to get from that?" he asked, holding up a hand and moving it about her in emphasis.

"What're you talking about? I'm wearing clothes! You're crazy. I oughta call Head Nurse Wilkes—"

"What're _you_ talking about?" Steve asked, clearly at a loss and still waving his hands about at her. "Matching pink bra and panties!"

"You—you perverted little monkey! How are you even seeing them?" she screeched, face now as red as her hair as her hands flew and crossed over her breasts, and now Steve's eyes were nearly out of their sockets because all of a sudden she was _naked._

The words "Why do you only have a patch of freckles on the part below your hips" was apparently the wrong thing to say (but then again Steve did _not_ have a filter, and had the terrible habit of saying things before he thought about them), as she slapped him full across the face before running out crying tears of frustration, leaving behind a disgruntled Steve. 'Well, that was sure weird,' he thought to himself, still looking after her in bemusement. How did she manage to get her undergarments off so quickly though? She was right there in front of him, and didn't move an inch. And he knew he wasn't just seeing things from the way she reacted to his remarks. Real weird… He looked around, taking in his surroundings, and blinked when he realized the room he was in—if it was a room, that is. It was huge, and he wondered if the whole floor was the room, given its size. Wait—the whole _floor_? Steve looked wildly about, confused. He could have sworn before he was the only occupant, but now he could see dozens of patients, people having surgeries, people—oh, _gross _there was an old man sitting on the loo with a newspaper! This wasn't right. Where were all the walls and doors that separated all of them? And like before with the nurse, Steve could see all those people without their clothes on, and then he could see their skeletons, their pulsing organs. _Urk_. He bent over, disgusted with what he saw. What the honest _hell_ was going on? Was he going crazy? Was he having a weird ass dream? Why was he literally seeing through people? He groaned. He better lay off the drinking next time. He sank his head back into the pillow. What was he even doing here again? He seemed perfectly fine to himself—holy fucking _shit_. Steve shot straight up when he remembered, beads of nervous sweat beginning to form on his forehead. They were in a storm last night. They got struck by lightning. How the hell did he survive _that_? Oh, God, what about the rest of the boys? Steve was suddenly seized by a sense of panic; the guys were the only family he had left, what had happened to _them_? His best friend Sodapop? Darry and Dally? Wisecracking Two-Bit and timid Johnny? Where was that brat Ponyboy? With every second flying by, his panic and out of whack emotions steadily grew more and more intense, and he felt almost painful pressure at the back of his eyes. The pressure then started to feel almost unbearable, like his eyes were just going to pop out of their sockets, when all of a sudden—_**BZZZ.**_ The pressure released, and Steve felt like he had just shot heat out of his eyes. When he looked again, he was startled to find a burning hole in the apparent wall in front of him he hadn't seen before.

"What was that?" an ornery voice called, and Steve looked on, bewildered, as an old man with tubing in his nose peeked around the hole. He looked at Steve. "Trying to drill your way out of here, eh?"

"What?" Steve said in response, even more disordered than ever.

"Looks like Mr. Randle's already gotten a hold of his like Mr. Winston's," a male voice remarked from his left, and Steve turned to face a man wearing glasses. He gave the hole in the wall a passing glance before looking at Steve. "Steve Randle?"

"Yessir," he said, nodding dumbly, and the man smiled a little, holding out his hand for him to shake.

"Jerry Wood," the man apparently named Jerry Wood informed him. "We have a lot to talk about."

**AN: Aah, I meant to get this out waaayyy out sooner, but suddenly I lost track of anything and gkfjdfklg. My apologies~ I'm also sorry if it seems rushed, I'm not sure how I want to pace this, really. So this is the first part for the boys discovering their powers and stuff, aah, I hope it wasn't too confusing, especially Steve's! ._. Oh, well. I'll be confirming everything next chapter, which fingers crossed is on its merry way on here soon! Thanks for reading, and see you in Chapter Numero Three!**


	3. Awfully Strange Happenings Part II

**Disclaimer: The Outsiders and its fantastic array of characters are the work of S.E. Hinton. Misfits, which provides the basis for this story, is the brainchild of Howard Overman. I merely own the words for this measly fanfic. **

"Oh, Two-Bit, you're so funny!" the girl chortled, eyes crinkling as she pressed a hand to her mouth to stifle her giggles, and Two-Bit sent a wink her way.

"I try, sweetheart, I try," he said, trying to sound modest, and he tilted his head down in a mock bow.

She giggled again, and he smiled at her lazily. Blondes were always his thing, and this girl with her buttery long locks and bright blue eyes was no exception. Scooting closer to her across the brick wall they were leaning on, he grinned.

"Say, if you aren't busy on Friday night tomorrow, you wanna—"

"TWO-BIT!"

_Gulp._ Two-Bit did not want to turn around, but he did so meekly.

"He-eyyy, Kathy," he said, tone casual although he was starting to sweat up a storm. He eyed the other blond girl, who had appeared out of nowhere, nervously. And judging by her furrowed eyebrows and her hands on her hips, she was _not_ happy. He rubbed his palms together anxiously as he waited for her to say something. Instead, she marched right up and starting shaking him like a ragdoll.

"Je-Jesus, Kathy!" he cried, as he suddenly became a bobble head figure and his head snapped back and forth viciously. When the hell did she get so strong? "Kathy, baby, you're going to break my neck! Oh, jeez, Kathy, you know I wasn't serious—"

And then something real strange happened. When Kathy opened her mouth to speak, the voice of Dallas Winston boomed, "TWO-BIT!"

"Uh, why do you sound like—"

"Two-Bit!" Kathy continued to shake him and roar at him in Dally's voice. "_Wake up_! Wake the hell up, you lazy old bum! Get _up_!"

And with that, Two-Bit was pulled out of his dream realm, and he awoke with a yelp. Everything was blurry, and when his eyes and conscious finally focused back to normal, he could tell that it was Dally who was shaking and yelling at him.

"I'm up! I'm up!" he said, swatting away Dally's persistent hands. "Jeez, Dal! Someone's a bucket of sunshine this morning!"

"No time for your smart remarks right now, Two," the blond was saying, and Two-Bit noticed for the first time that Dally was wearing _a hospital gown. And so was he_. He sniffed the air cautiously, and his trusty nose was met with the smell of cleanness and the faint aroma of get well flower bouquets. Uh-oh.

"Mind telling me why we're in a hospital first?" he asked, presenting Dally with his trademark eyebrow raise, but Dally shook his head, white-blond mess sweeping everywhere. Two-Bit yelped as Dally grabbed his arm rather roughly and hoisted him up out of his hospital bed.

"Questions later," Dallas said, as he kicked open the door of Two-Bit's hospital room, which startled the other occupants the rusty-haired boy hadn't noted before. Two-Bit waggled his fingers at them and saluted them.

"Goodbye!" he cried to them, but Dally had tightened his grip on his arm, and the two had set off running down the hall, which seemed eerily déjà vu, and suddenly everything clicked, as Two-Bit remembered the events of the day before. For once, his face was devoid of any humor, and he seriously asked Dally, "Dally. Weren't we kind of struck by lightning yesterday?"

"Good, so I'm not the only one who remembers that," Dally said, grumbling as they sprinted by shell-shocked nurses.

"We should be dead."

"Keyword is '_should_.'" Dally shrugged as they passed by other patients' rooms, and Two-Bit skidded to a halt when Dally suddenly stopped for a moment to peer into them, opening the doors slightly. "Johnny? Anyone?"

"You don't know if any of the other guys are around?" Two-Bit asked, concerned, and Dally shook his head, continuing to call for Johnny and the others and being greeted with cranky patients instead. "Oh, God. Are they—"

Dally cut him off with a sigh, and he prepared for the worst.

"I don't know, so far you're the only one I've been able to find," he answered, and Two-Bit felt himself deflate a bit. "Listen man, I don't get it either. But we need to find the rest of them."

"Sounds like a plan," Two-Bit readily agreed, and Dally gave him a pointed look after inspecting all the other rooms in the hall.

"Weird shit is happening around here and I don't like it," Dally grumbled, and Two-Bit looked at the blond curiously.

"Whaddya mean?"

Dally scratched the back of his head awkwardly as they continued on their quest to find the rest of their gang.

"Like I said, weird shit," he said, looking rather confused, which admittedly kind of scared Two-Bit. This was Dally, cocksure of everything Dally, and if even _he_ thought something was particularly peculiar, that didn't sound too good to him. "This is going to make me sound like I'm batshit crazy."

"Well, shoot, if that's what you're worried about you shouldn't! You're already batshit crazy!" Two-Bit grinned at him, and Dally only rolled his eyes, which probably meant the thing he was going to say was pretty heavy.

After muttering a few strings of lovely words directed toward the redhead, Dally opened his mouth to explain, when a cry interrupted him.

"There they are! Mr. Winston, Mr. Mathews, please wait!"

Two-Bit wanted to laugh hearing the names "Mr. Winston" and "Mr. Mathews". They sounded way too formal for some lousy hoods like themselves, and he couldn't help a mirthful chuckle that made its way from his lips. Dally, on the other hand, was not pleased at all, and muttered a few more swear words.

"Christ. Just when I thought I fucking lost them!"

"Wait, you know them?"

"Well, no, I hightailed away from them after I set that stupid nurse on fire—"

"You _what_?"

"Later, later!" Dally said, hastily pushing him in front of him. "Just fucking run!"

Obediently, Two-Bit did, and in a second found himself at the end of the hallway. Whoa. He frowned. Did it really only take him a second to reach the end of the hall? From where he and Dally had been standing only a moment ago, the distance seemed much greater. Confused, he turned around, and a good feet away stood Dally, open-mouthed in shock as he still stood in their spot from before.

"Uh, guess I'll be joining Ponyboy on the track team next year, yeah?" Two-Bit called over to his friend, pulling on an earlobe, and Dally just continued to look at him slack-jawed.

"Mr. Mathews! Come back here!" said the voice from before, and he and Dally both whirled around to see a young man finally catching up to where Dally was, panting heavily. "You too, Mr. Winston."

"No," Dally answered for them, gritting his teeth. "Stop following us around! And where the fuck are you getting this "Mister" shit from anyway?"

"Please, I'll explain later," the guy said, shaking his head. "Just come with me for now."

He grabbed Dally's arm, and Two-Bit sucked in his breath. _Wrong move, kid_. Dally's eyes narrowed as he pushed him off aggressively, and the man went stumbling against a wall.

"I _said_—"

"Dally! It's okay!" cried a familiarly quiet voice, and Dally and Two-Bit both turned to face Johnny, who aside from wearing a matching hospital gown, looked completely fine and unharmed. Feeling awkward from their stares, Johnny's gaze drifted to the floor.

"Johnny?" Dally said, and his face broke out in a rare, big grin. "Johnny! You're safe!"

"Yeah, I am," the younger boy said, smiling back, and Dally stepped forward to take his arm.

"Come on, let's get out of here to find the rest of the guys with Two-Bit—"

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that," the unknown man said, finally recovered from Dally's push.

"And why the hell not?" Dally asked, whirling on him.

"'Cause you need to sit your ass down for a long explanation of things," a sardonic, and yet very familiar voice drawled, and it was Two-Bit who recognized the new voice this time.

"Steve!"

Steve, who was clad in his clothes from yesterday appeared, and both Dally and Two-Bit grinned at him.

"Stevie! You're alright!" Two-Bit cheered, beaming, and he rushed back to join with half of their reunited family.

"Yeah, I'm alright," Steve said, giving Two-Bit an eye roll at "Stevie", but he wore a small smile on his face. "You two alright?"

"We're fine," Dally said, and he ruffled Johnny's hair before getting Steve in a headlock to give him an affectionate noogie. Steve scowled as his curls became unruly, but took the gesture in stride, since they were all glad to see each other. "Boy, are we glad to see you guys doing okay!"

"Yeah, yeah," Steve said, still smiling, but he waved Dally off. "Listen, all this mush is great and all, but you really do need to come with Simon and Mr. Wood so they can explain what's going on to you guys."

"Simon?" Two-Bit frowned, before looking over at the huffy unidentified man. "Oh. Well, hiya, Simon!"

"Hello," Simon said stiffly, still rather put off by Dally, who shrugged him off with a "sorry, man" that didn't sound too sorry at all.

"Who's the Wood guy?" Two-Bit said, trying to change the subject before any more conflict arose, and there was cough from behind him.

"That would be me," said a pudgy man with glasses, and he smiled politely at the boys. "Mr. Cade and Mr. Randle are already aware of the situation, but I'd like to explain to you and Mr.—" Mr. Wood stopped himself at Dally's glare. "—Dallas Winston after we get to the rest of your friends."

"Curtis kids," Dally said, nodding, although he looked hesitant. "Hey, I hope you know this doesn't mean I trust you. I'm only following 'cause I need to see the rest of my gang, and 'cause these guys are going."

Dally gave Wood a blank, yet somewhat threatening stare, and the man held his look with his own cool gaze.

"I understand it may not be in your nature to trust strangers _Dallas,_ but I'm going to need you to for the time being. For your friends' sake at least."

"Fine. For them," Dally agreed, and he followed the man's lead, although he turned to Steve moments later so the other boy could clue him a bit.

Two-Bit slung his arm around Johnny jubilantly, grinning down at the tan-skinned boy.

* * *

"_NO_!"

Darry bolted upright in bed, panting and sweating as he clutched the sheets tightly. It was a nightmare. The boys disappearing on him was just a nightmare. He groaned. And he thought Ponyboy was the one who was supposed to be getting nightmares. _Ponyboy._ His eyes shot wildly about, and he let out an audible sound of relief as he spotted his brother asleep on a bed across from him. He frowned. But since when did he and Ponyboy ever share a room? Looking around, he realized they were in a hospital, and he bitterly recalled the memories of the night before. _Struck by lightning…_ Shouldn't they be dead? He decided not to dwell on the subject too much. It could wait. His brother couldn't. Sighing he got up, flexing his hands experimentally. Everything seemed okay. A bit too okay for someone who had gotten struck by lightning, but he knew it was real from the few bruises that littered his arms from the hailstones. Stretching out, he walked over and crouched near Ponyboy's bed.

"Hey, kiddo," he said to him softly, even though he knew his brother probably couldn't hear him, and brushed a strand of auburn hair from Ponyboy's face, frowning at the bandage on it from the hailstone that had hit him there. His jaw clenched. Right, they were having an argument before.

He sighed, pulling up the covers over his little brother, but he smiled a little. Stubborn kid. Of course Pony made it through. The boy was practically a cat with nine lives, and his lucky streak had pulled through. Ponyboy looked younger and completely at peace as he blissfully slept. For once. Kid wore a frown too often nowadays for Darry's liking. Having nothing better to do, he watched Pony sleep for a few minutes, marveling at his brother's likeness to their other brother Sodapop. _Sodapop._ A panic of feeling seized Darry. Where was his other brother? He looked madly around him, but it seemed like he and Ponyboy were the only ones in the room. Where was he? Come to think of it, where was the rest of the bed? Oh, God, were they okay? He gripped the headboard of Ponyboy's bed anxiously. God, he hoped they were okay. They had to be okay.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door, and Darry's head shot up as a man with coke-bottle glasses walked in.

"Are you the doctor?" he asked suspiciously, although he could tell the man probably wasn't from his professional dress.

"No, I'm not," the man said, shaking his head. "Darrel Curtis, correct?"

"Just Darry's fine, sir," he said, looking over at the man curiously. "Something up?"

"Kind of," the man said, shrugging. "Sorry, terribly rude of me not to introduce myself. My name's Jerry Wood. And I need to speak to you."

"About what, exactly?" Darry asked, gripping the headboard tighter. "I'm kind of stressed out right now, Mr. Wood."

"Well, I was going to—"Jerry Wood eyed Darry's hand on the headboard cautiously. "Mr. Curtis, calm down."

"Calm down? I am calm," Darry said, confused as he held the headboard.

"Mr. Curtis! The headboard!"

Darry looked down, and much to his astonishment, he had actually _broken_ the headboard. He pulled his hand away slowly, still holding the piece he'd broken off, and set it down on the floor. He studied his hand cautiously.

"Gee, I always knew Superman was strong, but I didn't think he'd actually break anything!" someone remarked, and Darry looked back up to see Two-Bit peeking his head in through the door cheerily. "Heya, Muscles!"

"Two-Bit!" Darry cried, feeling a rush of relief hit him as he spotted the burly boy. "You're okay!"

"As good as ever!" Two-Bit winked, and Darry let out laugh of disbelief. "And with some other greasy kids you'll recognize!"

One by one, the other members of their closely-knit gang came into the room, and Darry's grin grew wider and wider as he spotted each of them, and they grinned right back. He let out a relieved cry as he spotted Sodapop, and his other little brother bounded forward into his arms for a hug.

"Oh, thank God," Darry said, holding Soda tightly. "Oh, thank God you're alright."

Soda only let out some sort of choked call, and Steve worriedly exclaimed, "Let him go, Dar! You're going to crush him!"

Although muddled about the request, Darry let go, and Sodapop stumbled back, clutching at his neck and coughing. Darry caught his arm before he fell.

"Soda! I'm sorry little buddy, you okay?" he asked, and Soda only nodded, gasping for air. Darry looked up at the shell-shocked audience, clearly at a loss. "I wasn't hugging him _that_ hard."

"Supe, you just broke the kid's headboard, I think it's possible you could've crushed Soda," Dally commented, and Mr. Wood's lips pressed into a tight, thin line.

"It seems like Darry's powers are kicking in as well," he said, and Darry frowned as Soda collected himself and immediately went over to Ponyboy's bedside.

"Powers?" he asked, the word sounding strange to him all of a sudden.

"Yeah, what powers?" Two-Bit asked, grey eyes wide, while Dally looked suspicious and Johnny and Steve looked unsurprised.

"Yes, powers," Mr. Wood confirmed, and he got up to close the door to their room. After hesitating for a second, he continued. "Boys, I am most heavily under the impression—no I _know_ you do—that you kids have superpowers."

**A/N: It is getting goooood~ I made this one a little longer I think, hope you guys liked reading it as much as I liked writing it! I've decided not to show all the boys' reactions to "the morning after", since I felt like it was getting repetitive. But yes, I hope to be getting a new chapter every week if I can! Also, I'll be confirming Dally and Steve's superpowers from last chapter;**

**Dally: Energy Blasts; more specifically, Fire and Electricity Manipulation—but you'll see the other aspects later. I've chosen this for him because I think it's most likely for him, since he has all that pent up hate and angry energy about him, I think it's pretty fitting for a guy like him.**

**Steve: Vision Based Powers; he's basically a little bit like Superman here! He can see through things and make blasts with his eyes and stuff~ I chose this for Steve, since I think he's the most reasonable and level-headed guy in the group aside from Darry—he can ****_see_**** through all these people and what they're thinking, ehehe. Plus, I think it'll be fun for him—when he learns to control it of course.**

**Replies:**

**AlongTheBinding: Thank you so much for the reply! I'm really glad you think I kept them IC; that was one of things I worried most when writing this, aha. Oh, thank goodness Steve's power wasn't confusing! I wasn't sure how to write it, so I just went with it. Jerry Wood, as you'll remember, was the teacher that Ponyboy encountered in the hospital, but he'll have a different role in this story. You'll seeeee~ Hope I didn't disappoint! (Thanks for your review on my other story as well! 3)**

**Fallen Angel 1243: 'Ello there, lovely! Thank you so much! Two-Bit's and Darry's were revealed here, and you'll get to see the others' later!**

**GGCharms 3: Thank you very much! I'm glad you like it so far! Pony's power will unfortunately be my guarded secret for a while, but you'll see! ;)**

**Guest: Thank you! Hope you liked this update!**

**greasergirl0003: Thanks so much, I'm very happy to read that you think so! I'll try! :D**

**SharkAngel: Get ready for plot heaviness next! ;) Thank you so much, hope you like Chapter Three! **

**Guest: Oh, gosh, thank you very much! That's very flattering to hear! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!**


	4. Explanations

**Disclaimer: The Outsiders and its fantastic array of characters are the work of S.E. Hinton. Misfits, which provides the basis for this story, is the brainchild of Howard Overman. I merely own the words for this measly fanfic.**

Two-Bit looked torn between being shocked and bursting into laughter, Dally looked pissed, and the rest of the boys shrugged, having already heard it. Darry looked like he was about to say something, but a voice interrupted him when he opened his mouth to speak.

"Superpowers?"

Everyone turned to see Ponyboy awake, and Soda grinned and squeezed his hand. Darry let out a sigh of a relief, though he made no movement to go to his brother.

"You okay?" the blonde asked, and Ponyboy nodded an affirmative, squeezing back and smiling at him faintly before staring at Mr. Wood.

"You were talking about superpowers?" Ponyboy started again, voice serious, but face null of anything as he held Mr. Wood's appraising stare.

"Hey, hey, maybe later, you just got up—"Soda cut in, but Ponyboy merely shook his head and waved at the man to explain.

"Yes, I was," Mr. Wood said, nodding. "Let me start from the beginning. The storm from yesterday—"

"Probably the biggest shit storm that's ever hit this town," Dally said. "If not the biggest storm in this state ever."

"Well, yes," Mr. Wood agreed, and Two-Bit snickered. "It was huge storm, and rather a peculiar one, no?"

"Too much hail and rain and lightning," Johnny muttered from his seat on the floor, fiddling around with his shoelaces, and Dally gave him a masked sympathetic look.

"Right," the bespectacled man said. "And I think you'll all remember being struck by lightning?"

"I knew I wasn't going crazy!" Two-Bit shouted then, and Steve rolled his eyes.

"Hate to break it to you man, but you're already crazy!"

"That's Dally, not me!" Two-Bit grinned, and said blonde made an obscene hand gesture at the redhead. "Well, gee, don't have a cow!"

"You're gonna _want_ to have a cow after I'm through with you!"

"_Boys_," Jerry Wood droned in his monotone voice, and after a glare from Darry, they quieted again. "I think you're all aware that people usually don't survive after being struck by lightning. But you all did. And that's what made you special."

"Um, I don't really follow," Ponyboy said, looking rather confused, and some of the other boys nodded. "What do you mean, it made us special?"

"The lightning strike," Mr. Wood said. "It's a rather lengthy and fascinating thing, but I'll spare you the long version in case you get bored. I'm going to give you the short version. You're familiar with DNA, right?"

Ponyboy and Darry nodded, but the others looked at a complete loss.

"That a new sandwich or something?" Two-Bit asked, scrunching his nose, and Ponyboy and Johnny laughed.

"It's hard to explain, but they're basically part of what makes us, well us," Ponyboy enlightened him. "They carry genetic information, which is what determines things like our hair and eye colors. It's pretty new stuff though; I think it was only discovered a little over a decade ago. That's only the basics though, I don't know too much about it. Is that right, Mr. Wood?"

"That's absolutely right, very good job, Mr. Curtis!" Mr. Wood beamed, looking quite impressed with him, and Ponyboy flushed under his friends' grins. "But yes, that is essentially what DNA is, though it's a lot more complicated on a larger scale. Like Mr. Curtis said, it's a relatively new subject, so there's a lot that still remains a mystery to us. But going back to the current matter at hand… I'm very confident in the idea that the very lightning bolt that struck you was containing warped genetic material. And at the very moment the bolt hit you, it altered your DNA strands, if that makes sense. Somehow, your genes played the codes off so that you managed to survive the incident and also left you with…side effects. Alternatively superpowers."

The boys were dumbfounded into silence, and cast confused and unbelieving looks at one another. The Curtis brothers were now huddled together in a worried little group, Dally was still scowling, Johnny looked nervous. Two-Bit didn't have his usual two-bits this time, instead looking rather stunned. Steve was putting up an uncaring front, but his actual anxious self was obvious from the look in his eyes. Dallas was the one to break the silence, directing the anger that stemmed from his confusion to Mr. Wood.

"Who do you think you are, feeding us this shit? Do you really expect us to believe this? You're crazy," Dally rambled, looking rather put off after seeing how unnerved his friends were. "You're freaking us out, man."

"But Dally, it makes sense," Johnny spoke softly. "It's the only explanation for us that makes sense. Unless you have any better ideas, I believe Mr. Wood."

"Johnny—"Dally started in protest, but closed his mouth again when the reserved boy shook his head.

"Yeah, come on Dal, settle down," Steve placated him. "I think this guy has it right too, and you know how I am. It's crazy, but you have to admit everything that's happened so far is pretty crazy, and I have a feeling everything after is going to be too. Dally, don't forget about what happened with you and Two-Bit."

"Alright, alright!" Dally said, throwing his hands up in the air in a reluctant defeat. "Fine, say this is real. That still doesn't explain how Wood knows all this, and more importantly knew about _us_ to come and find us."

"How do you know about this and us?" Ponyboy asked, and Mr. Wood held up a hand in a "wait" gesture.

"I knew about you, because you aren't the only ones," Mr. Wood said, and everyone's eyes widened in surprise. "And yes, it's shocking, but it's the truth. There have been many secretly documented cases like your's throughout history. We have our ways of finding and helping people like you. Like us. We keep tabs all around the world for unusual happenings and storms. I'm only part of the Oklahoma division here."

"'We'? Who's we?" Ponyboy asked, eyebrows knitted, muddled. "And like us?"

"We as in _you_," Mr. Wood said, smiling. "_Us_. People that also have powers, or are aware of the situation."

"Does that mean you have powers too?" Sodapop piped up, grinning, and Mr. Wood laughed for the first time.

"Watch carefully, kids," Mr. Wood said, a rather mischievous look on his face, and he pointed towards one of the empty chairs in the room.

And almost as if by magic, the chair lifted up into the air. Darry, Dally, and Steve's eyes widened. The rest of the boys gaped. They could only stare in shock as the chair moved right and left, up and down, did loop-dee-loops. Finally, Mr. Wood must have decided they had enough, because the chair gently floated down to its original spot without so much as a "thunk".

"Boy _howdy_!" Two-Bit gaped, waving his arms rather comically. "Did you—did you really just—_boy howdy_!"

"Mind manipulation, one of the more common specializations when it comes to powers," Wood said modestly, although the man seemed rather smug. "I also have a handy knack of being able to tell whenever someone's lying, although that's not a part of it."

"So more than one person can have the same abilities?" Ponyboy asked interestedly.

"It doesn't happen that often, but it's not uncommon," Mr. Wood answered, and the other boys were still laughing and blinking at the chair.

"Oh, man, I wish I can do that!" Two-Bit said, in a fit of mad laughter, and Dally cocked a grin.

"Yeah, well, good thing you don't, 'cause if you did, you'd probably destroy everything!"

"Would not!"

"Would too!"

"Wait, when can you even tell when you get powers? If you have them?" Ponyboy persisted, and Mr. Wood shrugged.

"To be frank with you, none of us really know. You all for sure have _something_, since you're still alive after that bolt of lightning hit you. Sometimes people can develop their's after weeks, months, years. Others, like your brother and some of your friends, got their's right away."

"Guess we'll be playing the waiting game with ours, Pone," Soda said, patting his brother's arm and Ponyboy shrugged, not satisfied with the answer.

"I guess so," he said, before returning to questioning Mr. Wood. "So, what do you guys even do?"

"Find more people like us and tell them what I'm telling you," the older man said. "Use our powers for the greater good."

"Like…like superheroes, almost?"

"You can say that," Mr. Wood said, giving him a smile. "I also want to remind you boys to keep this quiet. Too many bad happenings coinciding with the outside world knowing. I'm going to leave you kids some space for a couple of weeks so you can settle down, but we'll be keeping tabs on you."

"You mean spying," Dally accused, crossing his arms and scowling.

"More or less," Mr. Wood told him coolly. "I'll be back a few times to make sure you're alright. As of now, get some rest and back to normalcy."

He laughed after saying that.

"Normalcy," he said again, shaking his head, and taking his glasses off for a couple of seconds to wipe them on his dress shirt. He stood up from his seat and went up to the door. "A luxury we can never afford again… Well, good luck. I'll see you all soon."

"Thank you, Mr. Wood," Pony called after him, as the pudgy man started on his way out, and Wood looked back to give him a passing smile.

"Call me Jerry."

**A/N: Huuge apology for taking such a long-ass time, but I had AP exams along with state testing for the last three weeks, so… :/ Education before fic-writing, unfortunately. :/ Ack, this chapter is more of a filler chapter, but I hoped that kind of cleared some things up!**

**Replies:**

**Chick1966: Ah, I'm sorry, but I've been terribly busy with finals! Good to hear you're liking it so far, though!**

**SodapopLover4524: Aw, I'm glad~ Those three will develop their powers later, as they're the more sensitive and adamant ones, but it won't take too long, promise! ;) **

**AlongTheBinding: Pffh, you're far from being an idiot, friend! After all, Jerry had a very minimal role in the book, anyway! Yep, he's heading that way! Thank you! Mmhmm! I'm glad you're enjoying it, and thanks again! :D**

**Silver wolf: Ah, thank you very much for straining your fingers for the lovely reviews! I've already picked out their powers, but I don't think you'll be too disappointed, as your ideas are actually very similar to mine! Ponyboy's power will be a guarded secret of mine for some time. ;) But it's great to see another X-Men fan! Thanks again, sweetie!**

**NarutoOutsidersrock9: Ssh, it's going to be a secret for a few chapters! ;)**

**SharkAngel: Looks like everyone's curious about Pony! Hope I disappoint when his power comes around! Thank you! **

**FireGoddess101: I'm glad you're liking it, thank you!**

**Guest: Thank you, dear! Hope you like Chapter Four too!**


	5. Settling In Part I

**Disclaimer: The Outsiders and its fantastic array of characters are the work of S.E. Hinton. Misfits, which provides the basis for this story, is the brainchild of Howard Overman. I merely own the words for this measly fanfic.**

"Big time superheroes, huh?"

Ponyboy turned around to see Sodapop leaning against the kitchen doorframe and looking at him cautiously. He shrugged.

"Guess so," he said, and Soda lazily stretched, swinging the fridge door open.

"Hey, you want something? I've wanted to kill for a drink all day," he asked, and Ponyboy shrugged indifferently again, to which Soda gave him a blank look as he pulled out a carton of milk. Soda shook his head and frowned. "White. Gotta get Darry to stock on chocolate again." There was a pause, before the blonde said the dreaded words. "Ponyboy? Are you okay?"

He huffed, not really knowing to respond.

"I guess so? I mean, I don't really know what to say. We get struck by lightning, actually live through it, and then these people show up and tell us we have superpowers. Am I okay? I'm not really sure."

Soda set down a glass and began pouring milk. Ponyboy continued.

"I believe Jerry Wood. There was proof. He was proof. Dally, Steve, Two-Bit and Darry were proof. But I'm still finding this really hard to swallow. Especially since you, me, and Johnny still haven't had anything happen yet."

Soda stared at him before pouring another glass out, and he walked over to join his brother at the kitchen table, setting the other glass in front of Pony.

"Does this make us freaks, Soda? Since we're so different now? I used to think that we were sort of outsiders in society, you know, because we're grease but not really because we're just friends, but now I feel like we're even beyond that."

"What do you mean?" Soda asked, taking a gulpful of milk, and Pony bit his lip.

"I mean, we're even more disconnected from society with this. If it was hard before, it's going to be harder to really make something of ourselves. We're not outsiders anymore, Soda. We're misfits."

They both sat in silence for a couple seconds, soaking in the words.

"That upset you?"

"Well, yeah," Ponyboy chuckled humorlessly. "We're far off from ever being normal now. It's like Jerry said, normalcy is a luxury we can't ever afford anymore. I guess I didn't really realize what he was saying until now."

"Normal's overrated," Soda winked, bumping his shoulder to his baby brother's, and he earned himself a tiny smile from Ponyboy. "No, I get what you're saying. I'm a little disappointed with the situation too, but it is what it is, you know? But we're just going to have to make the most of it. We always do."

Somehow, Ponyboy knew that Sodapop wasn't just referring to the whole superpowers debacle. He meant their parents too. He nodded, holding Soda's deep brown gaze, before they both lightened up and smiled. He could always count on Soda on making everything better. Soda gave him a hard rub on the head and tapped his shoulder before getting up to put his finished glass in the sink.

"Drink your milk."

"One Darry in the family is enough," Ponyboy said dryly, and they both cracked up, but Soda sobered up quickly and shot him a serious look.

"No, seriously, Pony. Drink your milk."

* * *

"Dal?"

"He-ey, Johnnycake," Dally said, gracing his favorite person with a wry smile. "You need something?"

"No," the younger boy said, shrugging and rubbing his arm awkwardly, and Dally frowned.

"Something up?"

"Dally, can I ask you something?" Johnny blurted, and Dally shrugged.

"Well, yeah, provided if I can answer the question. But shoot."

"What's it like?" Johnny asked, leaning in curiously with his black eyes looking half excited and half cautious.

"What's what like?"

"You know," Johnny said, waving his hands about, and Dally laughed a little at how silly his friend looked. "Having powers?"

"What do you mean?" Dally asked, brows scrunching a little in confusion. "You mean how I feel about being able to set things on fire? It's damn tuff, if you ask me, but I'll admit that it's a little freaky on the off chance that I kill myself with it."

"Can you do it right now if you can?" Johnny started to ask, but then shook his head, looking ashamed for have asking. "Wait, never mind, it's okay—"

"We-elll, if you really want to…" Dally winked, and motioned him to come closer, which Johnny did. Slowly, he extended a closed hand out to Johnny before opening it, and a flame appeared in his palm, the orange colored wisps licking away at Dally's hand, but never burning him.

"Jesus," Johnny breathed, eyes wide with fascination, and his own hand reached out to touch the flame, and immediately Dally closed his hands, extinguishing the flame.

"Man, you crazy? You'd burn yourself!" the blonde scowled, and Johnny looked apologetic.

"Sorry, got too into it," he apologized, and Dally rolled his eyes. "Hey, so I guess you're in control of it now?"

"'Course, I'm Dallas Winston I control everything," Dally grinned, and Johnny chuckled. "Nah, man, I've been practicing."

"How?" Johnny asked curiously.

"I focus on being angry," the hood said, and he flicked Johnny's forehead in a friendly manner as the other boy snickered at his comment. "Yeah, yeah, I get it, I'm always angry, so it's not that hard for me. But really, I kinda just focus in on that anger, and think about it kind of going to my hands, and poof. Fire."

"That's pretty swell, Dal," Johnny said, wearing an amazed expression on his face.

"Yeah, well," Dally shrugged. "Probably get dead useful in a fight or something."

"Didn't Mr. Wood, uh, Jerry say we had to be careful people didn't find out though?" Johnny frowned, and his companion huffed.

"I still don't trust that guy," Dally glared, and Johnny yawned, stretching his arms behind his head.

"You still mad, Dal?" he asked. "I don't know, he seems like an alright guy. I trust him."

"Yeah, he seems alright," Dally nodded in reluctant agreement. "It just seems awful shady to me, this whole business. I guess I'm just being paranoid, but I just don't want you or the other guys getting trouble or nuthin', I dunno."

"Aw, feeling the sentiment here Dal," Johnny grinned, and Dally gave him a friendly push on the shoulder. "I wouldn't worry about it, honestly. He's like one of us Dal. I'm really sure we can trust him. But I also trust in all of us. If something comes up, we'll be ready for it."

"Damn right, kid, damn right."

"You feel weird about having powers?" Johnny asked suddenly, and Dally pulled a cigarette from his pack. He held it out as an offer to Johnny, but the black haired boy shook his head.

"Well, yeah, of course I do," Dally said, rolling the cigarette between his fingers. "It ain't right. We were supposed to _die_ that night, Johnny. But we got off lucky and that weird lightning bolt zapped us with freak genes. So yeah I feel antsy about it, but what can you do? We're all alive, and that's the only thing I'm going to focus on."

Johnny looked at his friend admiringly before speaking again.

"What do you think my power's going to be? If I have one, I mean?"

"You definitely have one," Dally assured him. "If you didn't have powers, you wouldn't be alive right now. 'Member what Wood said? He said it could take a while for them to kick in for some people. Don't sweat about it. Enjoy being somewhat normal while you can. Besides," he smiled at him fondly. "I bet your power's gonna be awful tuff."

"Thanks, Dal," Johnny flushed, and Dally patted his head like one would with their favorite dog.

Johnny watched on in amusement as Dally stopped playing with his cigarette and lit it with his index finger. Dally cracked a grin.

"Hey, long as no one finds out, right?" he asked, and Johnny laughed.

**A/N: Wow, so sorry for the short filler chapter! I'd been having block on this for a while, and I'm really sorry for the delay, I've been a bit busy since summer started a week ago (ohh, the irony), so yeah. Hopefully, hopefully, I get along with chapter six better, and I'll be back to fleshing out longer chapters in shorter waiting times for you guys. *huffs* Anyways, thanks for reading, and see you in numero six! **

**Replies:**

**Animated Innovation: Thank you! I'm glad you find it original, that was one of my goals to keep it different from other fics!**

**Chick1966: You'll see! ;) And no, I've heard of it though!**

**greasergirl0003: Oh, gosh, thank you! I'm very happy you're into it so far! Hopefully I continue to keep you interested in this!**

**Silver wolf: Thanks, dear! I used to be a DC chick myself, but I kinda swung into Marvel after a lot of disappointment with DC's recent stuff. Yeah, I did, yikes! :/ Oh, that's good to hear, and hey it was only one test! Eek, summer school doesn't sound like much fun! :( Hope you liked this chapter!**

**CookieCrazyLamboTwins: Thank you! :) Ah, I really hope no one gets disappointed with Ponyboy's power later, but you know it's my own interpretation, so. :/ *shrugs* **

**xxxx-voices-xxxx: Got a chapter for you right here! ;)**

**SharkAngel: Here ya go! ;) Honestly, I'm not too sure, I'm gonna estimate maybe 20-30ish? I'm going through arcs with this story; we're in the first arc of the boys settling in with their powers right now, and I'm planning two more arcs after this one. They should roughly add up to possibly 10 chapters each.**

**FireGoddess101: *gets scared about the chapter where Pony's powers are revealed in fear of reviewers not liking it* In time, in time~ And yeah, AP. :/ The test wasn't as bad as I thought though, much easier than our final, which I did really well on. :)**

**xXSyntribosXx: Eek, thank you so much! X-Men, yeah! *bro-fists you* Aw, I'm sure you're a fantastic writer! Doesn't matter I started a powers fic, maybe you should try too! ;) Wow, I'm flattered you read it so fast! That's very sweet of you to say, thanks again! Hope you like this chapter!**

**2Kayla's-heart: It hasn't been revealed yet! But it will be! ;)**


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